Wu Chengen's ability to write "Journey to the West" is inseparable from his experience. First, he has read a lot of anecdotes and unofficial histories since he was a child, and he has also dabbled in various ghost novels. The second is that Wu Chengen's father was an official and loved Wu Chengen very much. He liked to take Wu Chengen around to visit famous mountains and rivers. He traveled to many places and read many books, so he could naturally write such a story. Let me first introduce Wu Chengen. His ancestors were officials and scholars, and he can be regarded as a scholarly family.
Wu Chengen’s father attached great importance to Wu Chengen’s education. In addition, Wu Chengen had a talent for learning since he was a child. Under his father’s influence, he fell in love with reading and also liked some ghost stories. According to historical records, Wu Chengen had many hobbies and liked to read ghost novels, such as "White Monster Record", "Youyang Zazu" and other novels. The stories in these novels accumulated a lot of ghost material for Wu Chengen to write "Journey to the West" in the future. .
Love reading is the key to writing "Journey to the West". I think the most important thing is his life experience. Wu Chengen's life was a bit bumpy. Although he was very talented, he only became a major in his forties. Gongsheng students can be said to be deeply restricted by the imperial examination system. He later became a county magistrate, but seeing corruption in the officialdom, he was a decent man and insisted on being himself, but he did not achieve much. Like many frustrated literati, Wu Cheng'en had a rough and ups and downs life and was not a candidate for officialdom, but his astonishing literary talent was admired by later generations.
Wu Chengen’s experience of studying and serving as an official for most of his life allowed him to accumulate a lot of writing materials. It was not until he was in his fifties that he began to write "Journey to the West". He lived a lonely and helpless life in his old age. His calligraphy is good, but he sells his writing in order to make a living. He is really down and out. However, his "Journey to the West" was a success. It is one of the four classic classics and enjoys immortal status, which can be regarded as the greatest comfort to him.